After surviving the pandemic and Homeschooling as to remain home with young children, our family of 6 ( 4 kids at home ranging from 4,6,9 & 17 current ages) began to emerge in September 2021. As life began to seem a little more normal, we also decided on a big family trip to visit our 91 yr old grandmother and other west coast family in Arizona. It was truly magical coming together with family and having little cousins play together.
Towards the end of our vacation our family began having different symptoms of illness. During our trip we had tested our family multiple times for Covid 19 to be conscientious and we've always tested negative. We're all up to date on vaccinations, even yearly flu shots but with each day we became sicker.
Unfortunately we've racked up thousands in different hotel stays, hotel isolation while awaiting covid results, fees for plane flight changes for family of 6, van extensions, medical bills and otc medicine. This was unforeseen and although we've been so covid conscious, we didn't consider how catching the Influenza A & B could ruin a vacation and financially drain our family. To understand more of our story please continue to read below.
After exploring Sedona Az. After saying goodbye to the last of our family, We got a hotel in Flagstaff AZ. That night my husband wasn't feel well. We thought he could sleep it off but my husband became more ill and had trouble breathing. After speaking with our doctors at home in Massachusetts, we loaded my husband into our rental van and headed to local Urgent care. Due to how ill my husband seemed, Urgent care decided to call for an ambulance since my husband was delirious and having trouble breathing. EMT didn't see anything concerning with his vitals but agreed to bring him to hospital as he really wasn't well.
I hopped in the car to follow the ambulance with my 4 kids in the back seat. Once I arrived I parked the van and brought my 4& 9 yr old kids with me to go check on my husband. I walked into Flagstaff Medical Center to see my husband, who was brought in on a stretcher from an ambulance, laying flat out on the floor in the ER waiting room. The 3 of us rushed over to check on him. We took notice of how the room was filled with sickly people and I called my 17 yr old to take the 4 & 9 yr old back to the Van. As I was sending my kids off to the car, I checked my husband's breathing and he was barely communicating with me. I went to the front desk to tell them he isn't responding to me and has asthma! A nurse slowly pushed the vitals machine out to him and checked him. His oxygen was in 89 so the nurse and I picked him off the floor to sit in a recliner near the nurses station.
He continued to sit in that chair for 6 hours while I ran back and forth between him and the Van of children which I eventually took back to the hotel. This was when the children began showing illness which at the time I thought was anxiousness and some altitude sickness (we were at 7,000 ft). After settling the children at the hotel, I heard back from my husband that he'd been swabbed for 3 viruses (covid, RSV & Flu). With my concern for his asthma and that he hadn't had his vitals checked after 6 hours waiting, I went to CVS and loaded up with an oxygen monitor and more covid tests. So after 7 hours the test confirmed my husband had Influenza A. It wasn't until midnight that I was able to bring him back to the hotel.
With each day, everyone began running fevers, vomiting, Dizziness, muscle pain, headache and nausea. We knew our plane flight was on Tuesday but also knew there was no way we could fly so sick. I was monitoring everyone's oxygen and communicating with doctors. Us big people were able to start Tamiflu but the younger kids became sick with time until a telephone nurse said to get kids to urgent care that monday.
With my belief that the increased altitude wasn't helping any of our symptoms, I was able to pack up our family of 6 and get closer to Phoenix in hopes of better Healthcare and being closer to the airport. At the Nextcare urgent care in Phoenix we learned that children also had Influenza A and one kid had Influenza B. Everyone had fevers and all the other flu symptoms. Thankfully I still was functioning although I didn't feel great. We were also given PCR covid tests and instructed to quarantine our family best we could until receiving results. The only way to get our medicine was to mask up and head to CVS which I did. Even though CVS was right beside Urgent care it took 5.5 hours for me to get prednisone, albuterol and 3 children's Tamiflu for my kiddos and husband totaling $175, which cvs said I got a great deal. By that time I was crying at the pharmacy.
Thankful to return to my family with medicine, we were also told the hotel was sold out and we had to move again. Now to our current situation; that we were able to secure 4 nights at towneplace suites in Tempe so that we have a freezer for Popsicles as that's how I've been able to keep kiddos hydrated. Having a small kitchen and a separate space for the 17 yr old has been very helpful too. If you've read this far then I greatly appreciate your patience and interest. Absolutely anything helps. Thank you ❤️
After surviving the pandemic and Homeschooling as to remain home with young children, our family of 6 ( 4 kids at home ranging from 4,6,9 & 17 current ages) began to emerge in September 2021. As life began to seem a little more normal, we also decided on a big family trip to visit our 91 yr old grandmother and other west coast family in Arizona. It was truly magical coming together with family and having little cousins play together.
Towards the end of our vacation our family began having different symptoms of illness. During our trip we had tested our family multiple times for Covid 19 to be conscientious and we've always tested negative. We're all up to date on vaccinations, even yearly flu shots but with each day we became sicker.
Unfortunately we've racked up thousands in different hotel stays, hotel isolation while awaiting covid results, fees for plane flight changes for family of 6, van extensions, medical bills and otc medicine. This was unforeseen and although we've been so covid conscious, we didn't consider how catching the Influenza A & B could ruin a vacation and financially drain our family. To understand more of our story please continue to read below.
After exploring Sedona Az. After saying goodbye to the last of our family, We got a hotel in Flagstaff AZ. That night my husband wasn't feel well. We thought he could sleep it off but my husband became more ill and had trouble breathing. After speaking with our doctors at home in Massachusetts, we loaded my husband into our rental van and headed to local Urgent care. Due to how ill my husband seemed, Urgent care decided to call for an ambulance since my husband was delirious and having trouble breathing. EMT didn't see anything concerning with his vitals but agreed to bring him to hospital as he really wasn't well.
I hopped in the car to follow the ambulance with my 4 kids in the back seat. Once I arrived I parked the van and brought my 4& 9 yr old kids with me to go check on my husband. I walked into Flagstaff Medical Center to see my husband, who was brought in on a stretcher from an ambulance, laying flat out on the floor in the ER waiting room. The 3 of us rushed over to check on him. We took notice of how the room was filled with sickly people and I called my 17 yr old to take the 4 & 9 yr old back to the Van. As I was sending my kids off to the car, I checked my husband's breathing and he was barely communicating with me. I went to the front desk to tell them he isn't responding to me and has asthma! A nurse slowly pushed the vitals machine out to him and checked him. His oxygen was in 89 so the nurse and I picked him off the floor to sit in a recliner near the nurses station.
He continued to sit in that chair for 6 hours while I ran back and forth between him and the Van of children which I eventually took back to the hotel. This was when the children began showing illness which at the time I thought was anxiousness and some altitude sickness (we were at 7,000 ft). After settling the children at the hotel, I heard back from my husband that he'd been swabbed for 3 viruses (covid, RSV & Flu). With my concern for his asthma and that he hadn't had his vitals checked after 6 hours waiting, I went to CVS and loaded up with an oxygen monitor and more covid tests. So after 7 hours the test confirmed my husband had Influenza A. It wasn't until midnight that I was able to bring him back to the hotel.
With each day, everyone began running fevers, vomiting, Dizziness, muscle pain, headache and nausea. We knew our plane flight was on Tuesday but also knew there was no way we could fly so sick. I was monitoring everyone's oxygen and communicating with doctors. Us big people were able to start Tamiflu but the younger kids became sick with time until a telephone nurse said to get kids to urgent care that monday.
With my belief that the increased altitude wasn't helping any of our symptoms, I was able to pack up our family of 6 and get closer to Phoenix in hopes of better Healthcare and being closer to the airport. At the Nextcare urgent care in Phoenix we learned that children also had Influenza A and one kid had Influenza B. Everyone had fevers and all the other flu symptoms. Thankfully I still was functioning although I didn't feel great. We were also given PCR covid tests and instructed to quarantine our family best we could until receiving results. The only way to get our medicine was to mask up and head to CVS which I did. Even though CVS was right beside Urgent care it took 5.5 hours for me to get prednisone, albuterol and 3 children's Tamiflu for my kiddos and husband totaling $175, which cvs said I got a great deal. By that time I was crying at the pharmacy.
Thankful to return to my family with medicine, we were also told the hotel was sold out and we had to move again. Now to our current situation; that we were able to secure 4 nights at towneplace suites in Tempe so that we have a freezer for Popsicles as that's how I've been able to keep kiddos hydrated. Having a small kitchen and a separate space for the 17 yr old has been very helpful too. If you've read this far then I greatly appreciate your patience and interest. Absolutely anything helps. Thank you ❤️
